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Show WOMAN'S WORLD Fabric Choice Hinges on Pattern And Use for Which It Is Planned By Ertta Haley CO MANY NEW developments iJ have come about in the fabric field, it's a little difficult to begin selecting the right types to use with patterns. Then, too, many women who sew, especially beginners, select se-lect pattern and fabric without considering con-sidering their relation to each other. Materials may be perfection and dream stuff, but unless you show them off to their best advantage with the proper style, both pattern and fabric lose much value. One of the best ways to learn how to select fabrics is to handle them before buying, as well as by working with them. If you feel inept at this type of thing, take along someone who knows materials or consult the salesperson who is usually expert at telling you about the goods. Try to avoid buying material before be-fore selecting a pattern. There are several reasons for this. First of all, your pattern gives you a guide as to how much material you'll need. Too much is a waste; too little may be impossible to replenish once you get started in the actual cutting and sewing. Another reason for buying pattern first is that patterns give a guide as to what types of fabric are suitable suit-able for this particular pattern. In this way you can avoid looking at a lot of materials which would certainly cer-tainly be inappropriate to the style you have chosen. Some patterns need materials which pleats easily; others need those which drape well while still others need a crisp material. Select fabrics .... Select materials which are appropriate ap-propriate to the use to which you're putting them. Articles needing frequent fre-quent washing should carry the fast color, pre-shrunk or sanforized labels. la-bels. Treat Materials As Directed It's not as common today as it was yesterday, but it still happens! That lovely dress over which someone some-one put hours of sewing. is ruined appropriate to patterns. with its first washing, cleaning or pressing. Why? Simply, because there was no label to read or it was neglected when it came to cleaning the garment. Smart women know what they can expect from materials before they use them. Fragile fabrics are not intended to survive hard soap and water tubbings. Some synthetics syn-thetics such as rayon and nylon will not take a hot iron. You'll soon find this out in the attempt, Be Smart! For the mature woman, lace continues to be a favorite for an evening dress that is adaptable adapt-able to ever so many occasions. Designers often turn to extreme ex-treme simplicity in order to bring out the full beauty of the lace, and add a tiny jacket to convert it Into an Informal dinner din-ner dress as needed. One of the newer touches to such a jacket jack-et is illustrated, a long sleeve, cut-away bolero that fits snugly. snug-ly. It is outlined with bias bands or taffeta or some other crisp silk that' nsed for the foundation slip. These bands may be repeated on the skirt for emphasis. Maternity Fashion . ,VV j ilflliiill mmwm Uf- ; :;1 ill :; - : : 1 I ;f-i:i-fi0'-v::-.':-.; . I ; Wi . i ' ? 4 -;:! Dressy for its coloring, and adjustable in its proportions is this maternity dress of turquoise tur-quoise tissue faille with ruby and gold buttons fastening the bodice. The hook and eye adjustment ad-justment which allows for waistline expansion is concealed con-cealed by a smart wrapped and buttoned cummerbund. but why melt and ruin the fabric even in one spot when you could have read the label and found out? Some materials need steaming rather than pressing, like velvet, for example. Some rayon will wash but need a cool iron and no sprinkling. Some take to a bleach while others are ruined by them. Labels will give all this information. informa-tion. Save the label and put in a place for safekeeping for the life of the fabric. Irons are good guides to pressing press-ing many fabrics as heat indicators indica-tors give you the right temperatures tempera-tures for different materials. If you are uncertain as to how any fabric will behave, test it before sewing, and see whether you can afford to treat it accordingly. Fabrics that "handle" well give much satisfaction in their wearing as they will feel comfortable. Touch and hang fabric as you select se-lect and see if it feels nice in the hands. Note how it falls or drapes and you will have a pretty good idea of the final result. Observe Surface of Fabrlo While Cutting Pattern Standing fiber ends are called nap or pile. Velvet, velveteen and terry cloth are examples of pile fabrics. Wool broadcloth and doeskin doe-skin are examples of nap fabrics while satin is a sheen fabric. In using any of the nap, pile or sheen fabrics, it's important to cut alike as to the direction of the surface or they will look like different dif-ferent colored materials when put together. Cut all pieces with the pile, nap or sheen running the same way, which is usually down. If you feel inadequate to doing this, study the placing and cutting directions on your pattern which has a guide for you. Many of the new fabrics have certain finishes which affect their cleaning, laundering, draping and wearing qualities. After weaving, these are processed to increase their weight or body or to prevent shrinkage or wrinkling. Some have gloss added to the surface, while others are made of water-repellent or moth-proofed. Inquire into these different aspects as-pects when you buy, as they may affect your desire to purchase the material. Fabrics which require special cleaning may, after a few , soilings, become too expensive as to upkeep, that you will cease using it. It would have been better to know this and to select some easy material to wash. Glazed fabrics may often withstand with-stand washing, but, of course, they will not keep their shine. If this makes no difference to you, then you can go ahead and use it. Study the ravel on the torn end of the fabric. Some materials will be difficult to sew since they ravel sc much, and then, too, the edges will have to be bound for finishing. Lengthwise and crosswise threads sometimes get out of line as the materials are printed and rolled. These should be straightened before be-fore cutting or sewing to give a true grain. Clip the selvage, catch one crosswise thread and pull it gently out of the fabric. Cut carefully care-fully on this line and you will have one straight end. |